


One Hundred Moments Between Rain and Rebirth

by BrokenChosenofEva



Series: Moments in Time [2]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 00:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6589579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenChosenofEva/pseuds/BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Asuka and Touji. Instrumentality showed every possible world, all real, each as valid and solid as the next.<br/>Fifty memories recalled, fifty thoughts shared, fifty glimpses into their lives. Asuka and Touji fought and lived side-by-side through the Angel War and beyond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rain through Hell

001\. Rain  
Touji watched the rain outside the hospital window, Asuka's nose pressed to the corner of his jaw below his ear, and hoped the young woman would be able to one day see it as something other than a reminder of Arael.

002\. Mirror  
She hated her reflection and wondered for the umpteenth time why she'd not rid herself of the full-body mirror, but when she felt Touji slip his hands around her waist and the man began to grace each pock-mark and scar with reverent attention, she decided once more to let go of her imperfections.

003\. Sanctuary  
At one time it was nearly anathema to them, depending on someone else, but after the trials they'd faced they realized needing a shelter in the storm was about wisdom and not weakness.

004\. Imagination  
It used to torment her, the day-dreams of happier times, because she knew she couldn't have them, and what use was wanting something that could never be yours?

005\. Spirit  
"She's so lively," Touji said to her, eyes focused on the four-year-old dashing about the backyard, and Asuka looked up from the two-year-old in her arms to watch alongside him, "She's got your spirit."

006\. Resign  
There was no trepidation in twenty-two year old Asuka's step, only confidence, as she walked in her NERV uniform up to the edge of the tower just beside Misato's desk in Central Dogma, and squared her shoulders as Touji waited beside her, "Effective immediately, I'm resigning from Tactical Commander," she grinned at the hushed murmurs, a grin that turned to a smile as she continued, "I intend to spend my full time from now on at home, as Touji and I are expecting our first child."

007\. Abnormal  
The glow in her eyes when she leaped across the field at Kaworu was a surprise, but not as unsettling as the aura that seemed to surround the two, and Touji wondered if the situation felt so off to him because of his own unusual behavior since finding Kaworu was actually the Angel Tabris, or if it was Asuka's uncharacteristic secretiveness up to this point.

008\. Vision  
The change in his sight was perhaps one of the oddest things he'd encountered, aside from the various forms the Angels had taken when they attacked Tokyo-3, but was also the least stressful for him, though the way Asuka shied away from the sight of the patch over his missing eye was something he knew would be a trial they would both overcome in time.

009\. Heaven  
"This is Heaven!" the little girl exclaimed, crystal-blue eyes aglow and joy lighting her cherubic features just as the sun made her coppery hair look like it was a waterfall of flame down her back, and she danced in circles around her parents as they leaned shoulder to shoulder against an old oak on the outskirts of Tokyo-3 and watched her with smiles so happy they were almost painful, and they silently agreed with their daughter, laughing with her as she grabbed her little brother's hands and made him dance with her.

010\. Hell  
Alarms blaring in his ears, Touji commanded his EVA to its feet amongst the burning wreckage of the Geofront and prepared to take down Zeruel, even though he knew it was going to cost him he had made his choice a life ago when a certain redheaded Pilot had agreed to their first date, and again when she held their daughter in her arms for the first time, and he knew one thing for certain: he would walk through hell and back for his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While generally set in the same AU, some of them are in variations. Please, leave a Kudos if you liked it, and comment if anything comes to mind ^.^


	2. Chapter 2

011\. Underground  
The Geofront was an amazing place, during the day it was awash in golden light from the massive array of mirrors and lenses that were used to guide sunlight from the surface down into the subterranean dome, and with the City retracted below thick armor plating at night the ceiling of the Geofront looked like a glimmering constellation of man-made stars, and Asuka never got tired to watching it.

012\. Soul  
"My AT-Field is the physical manifestation of the limits of my Soul, a shield and a hammer," Asuka coldly spoke to Ritsuko, the doctor and head of Technical Division-1 watching the younger woman as she stood between the bottle-blonde and a little girl that was the mirror of the redheaded young woman, "But my daughter is the result of the mixing of Touji's and my heart, and you will not poke and prod her like another of your curious experiments!"

013\. Crystal  
Two pairs of crystal clear eyes, one set blue and the other indigo, watched each other intently, neither blinking nor turning aside until the blue exactly like her mother's sought out and found their elder counter-parts, "A baby bruvver?"

014\. Sunrise  
Asuka never liked sunsets, to her they signified an end, life coming to a stop, and especially in winter they arrived far too soon for her taste, but sunrises were a beginning, the start of a new day, and as she sat waiting for Touji's now habitual 'good morning' message on her cell, she watched the rising sun peek over the distant mountains and enjoyed the gentle pressure of morning sunlight as it warmed her where she sat on her apartment's roof.

015\. Disgust  
Asuka jerked back in her seat inside Unit-Two's entryplug, the sight of the MP-EVAs filling her with a mix of fear and revulsion and bringing up memories of her first fight against them, and she had never been more grateful for the presence of her fellow EVA Pilots.

016\. Improvise  
It was a new sensation for the jock, having never been on an actual date when other girls he'd asked had giggled and turned him down, and he found himself completely out of his depth for what to do now that Asuka had agreed to go out with him, but his friend's calm advice to just make it up as he went along at least gave him a place to start.

017\. Weakness  
At one time Asuka looked on caring for others as a weakness and looked down her nose at them, but after fighting alongside Touji in the Angel War and nearly losing him several times, she realized that it was only a weakness if she let it pull her under instead of push her forward.

018\. Bent  
Touji blinked up at the suddenly far too close roof of the entryplug, vision coated red as the partially drained LCL lapped at his ankles, struggling to comprehend that the proximity was because the container was bent, and slowly slipped unconscious.

019\. Analyze  
She could feel Rei's eyes on her back as she sat beside Touji during lunch, for a moment wondering what the other girl thought as she analyzed the world around her, and found herself hoping the Half-Angel girl was finding reasons to stop Gendo's plans for Third Impact.

020\. Glare  
Touji liked to think he was immune to Asuka's glare, having been on the receiving end of it many times in both the last life and this, but the look she was giving him this time had him feeling that he wasn't nearly as resistant to fear as he thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a note: I'll be posting all 100 prompts under this title, but I'll let ya'll know when I go from one to the next.


	3. Speed Forward, Contain Me

021\. Speed  
They raced across the park, chasing their two children in circles around trees and the occasional set of playground equipment as laughter rang out in the open air, working together to finally trap the little girl and her younger brother, scooping up the breathless and giggling children, smiles on their faces as they set out for home.

022\. Violence  
Violence, Asuka had told him one time during a contemplative silence after the battle with Zeruel, was a song that sang in her ears and made her blood rush through her veins, and that deep down the adrenaline rush it gave terrified her.

023\. Everything  
"...All Is Right..." she murmured, reading the NERV motto, and the feel of Kyo dozing in her arms and Mana's hand tightly clutching her skirt as Touji held the little girl's other hand made her think that maybe, just maybe, everything really would be ok in the end.

024\. Indifference  
The look of indifference on the bottle-blonde doctor's face as she made him the offer to Pilot infuriated him, especially considering what he knew from the last life, but it also made him pity her, no one deserved an indifferent attitude aimed at them by the one they loved.

025\. Roam  
The size of the EVAs meant their cages were equally massive, and that made them the perfect place to wander while he collected his thoughts, trying to decide exactly what he was going to do for his date with Asuka that Friday evening.

026\. Psychosis  
Trapped inside a virtual world designed to kill their real bodies when their avatar died, Touji wondered how anyone managed to stay sane, and knew that for himself the sole reason he hadn't lost his mind was the driving fire of his constant companion.

027\. Dark  
Touji knew the dark had always bothered Asuka, though the why of it continued to escape him, so when the power went out one night during a storm he got up and crossed the hall, knocking once before entering to find Asuka wrapped in a ball of blankets on her bed and watching him move to her side with wide eyes.

028\. Twisted  
Touji snarled, slamming the controls forward and launching his EVA at the Mass-Produced series Evangelion that was poised to run its sword through Asuka's Unit-Two, crashing into it and knocking it away, then reaching out a hand to help Asuka to her feet, her expression matching his with a twisted grin as they set out to shred the remaining MP-EVAs.

029\. Attic  
Asuka slowly sorted through the boxes in their attic, looking over the various items they'd collected together over the last fifty years with a constant smile on her lips even though the occasional tear slipped down her face, and eventually she found an old photo from when they had been children standing side by side and grinning in victory at the camera, and carried it back down stairs.

030\. Contain  
Watching, through fragments of Instrumentality, as all the possible lives where she lost Touji filed passed her mind, she found her facade of arrogance and power was far too weak for the task of containing her tears as she watched him die over and over, and when she finally found him before Instrumentality collapsed she held him for all she was worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psychosis was a PAIN. lol 
> 
> And then I thought of Laughing Coffin from SAO and decided a crossover was in order. Twisted and Contain also proved a stumbling block, but I knew what I wanted for "029. Attic" from the start.


	4. Monster Online

031\. Monster  
"Don't worry, Mana," Touji leaned down to hug his and Asuka's four year old daughter, "There aren't any monsters in the closet," the relief and trust in her sea-blue eyes, shining passed the tears from her nightmare, filled him with happiness almost to bursting, especially after all his fears of failure and being the monster instead.

032\. Return  
Touji ran the fingers of his left hand slowly over the desk the Commander once sat behind, turning to look out over Central Dogma in the dim standby lighting, tightening his grip on the cane that was more affectation than required implement as he turned and made his way to the lifts back to the surface, at once saddened and glad that NERV would be closed and locked, sealing a mix of memories both good and bad, along with the twisted things trapped in its bowels after decades of ignoring Terminal Dogma and the EVA graveyard, knowing this would be the last time he returned.

033\. Without  
Asuka continued to hold Touji's gradually cooling hand across the space between their beds and smiling at the calm expression locked on his relaxed face, feeling in her bones that she wasn't far behind him, a good thing in her mind when she thought of all the times he'd been stumped or lost without her, and took as deep a breath as she could before whispering, "Just wait up, you stooge, I'll be along soon."

034\. Unnatural  
The surge of Fire in her gut and Ice in her veins brought with it a wave of power into her body, brushing aside her fears and insecurities as her AT-Field manifested in a wall of shimmering light before her, a corner of her mind registering the unnatural rush it gave her that was much like what she felt when she would pilot her EVA into battle, and she leapt off the catwalk in pursuit of Unit-Three and Tabris.

035\. Doctor  
"Doctor Suzuhara," Asuka turned at the voice, her youngest sleeping in her arms as she paused in her trip down the corridor from the nursery to the lifts, arching an eyebrow as one of bridge technicians caught up to her, "We just received a hyper-comm ping from a 'Hikari Aida', asking for you to be told they just jumped back in-system and that you'd know where to meet." the redhead smiled and gave a nod, turning to continue to the lifts, calling over her shoulder, "Thank you."

036\. Spin  
"Again, again!" Kyo cried, laughter filling the two-year-old's voice as Touji picked him up from the counter and spun in a circle once more, the little boy held above his head while Asuka and a snickering Mana watched from the side.

037\. Beam  
Asuka was beaming as she walked down the impromptu aisle of the dojo, the mix of Eastern setting and Western ritual representing her and Touji's childhood homes, and was almost matched by the motherly pride on Misato's face and Touji's own smile, tears unabashedly flowing down both their faces as Asuka reached him and gave a nod to Kozo to begin the ceremony.

038\. Honesty  
Being honest about their feelings was not something either did well, or at all, and was a challenge they overcame through trials and near misses during the Angel War, and something they continued to build on as they married and had children.

039\. Slash  
Asuka's reaction to catching a glimpse of a tabloid with a picture of the four of them holding hands at sunset and reporting Touji and Kaworu as being in a relationship was, for Touji who was used to her over-reacting, rather calm; the German redhead waited until she reached home before pitching one of the least violent but loudest insult-ridden fits he had ever seen, and left them both on the floor laughing almost uncontrollably at the things people would write for a little attention.

040\. Online  
Asuka leapt at the member of Laughing Coffin, knocking them back from what would have been a killing blow to Touji and triggering a sword skill that ended with the player skewered on her broadsword before they burst into shining particles, another sight that would be a part of her nightmares, both here online and in the real world once they returned after Kirito and Asuna won the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started laughing when I got to 039. Slash, as unfortunately the first thought in my mind was the fic meaning for slash. If you like slash, I'm sorry if I insulted you, but I think Asuka's reaction would either be to pitch a fit, laugh, or snort derisively depending on who it was about.
> 
> And another SAO crossover! A bit obvious, to me, considering the prompt. lol The four in the picture are, from left to right: Asuka, Touji, Kaworu, and Hikari.
> 
> Prompt 035. Doctor ties in with my Hikari/Kensuke challenge, specifically prompt 032. Calling


	5. Misunderstood Instrumentality

041\. Misunderstood  
"I'm sorry," Asuka sobbed quietly, Touji standing not far behind her with a confused, and furious, Misato down in Terminal Dogma, "You didn't have to reach It, I could've helped you fight the Pull," Misato spun on her heel, obviously having heard enough whimpering over a dead Angel, leaving a disappointed Touji to comfort his hurting wife, the young man stepping over and gently laying a hand on her shoulder.

042\. Prevail  
Slaying the last MP-EVA, Touji turned to see the other three EVAs approach him as he brought his own EVA upright, opening a channel to them and Central Dogma, "Tuh quote Ken-man, "'today we prevail over our enemies, standin' as duh victors in our shinin' chariots'", or somethin' like that," earning a groan from Asuka and a chuckle from Shinji, while Rei simply looked on with her usual mask of indifference, though a hint of confusion tugged at her eyebrows.

043\. Inconceivable  
As he watched his two friends laugh and joke, sitting at an open air cafe with a couple drinks between them, Touji couldn't believe his eyes, Kensuke -the quintessential geek- looking for all the world like he was on a date with Hikari -prim and proper, the 'by the book' boss of their trio-, and turning to Asuka beside him was chagrined to find the redhead grinning at him, "Inconceivable!" they both called out, earning a startled looked from the other two as they burst out laughing.

044\. Endanger  
Touji took a deep breath of the LCL, mentally preparing himself for what he knew would happen once the Activation Test began, intentionally endangering himself for the simple reason of wanting to be able to fight beside Asuka and the others just like he had in their last life, understanding that this time may not turn out any better than the first time.

045\. Stare  
Watching Mana squirm in her seat, the eight-year-old attempting to look anywhere but at her parents and the broken dishes on the kitchen floor, Touji had to constantly fight a grin; the plates were old, and in his opinion rather ugly, but Asuka had liked them because they'd been a wedding gift from Hikari, so he stood beside her and stared down their daughter while she fidgeted and tapped her fingers together.

046\. Supernatural  
Seeing their two children walking ahead of Kaworu, Asuka and Touji couldn't believe their eye, and when they felt Kaworu reach out with his AT-Field and find them they wondered what supernatural event had sent the two most precious things in their lives back in time to the Angel instead of them directly, but left that thought behind when the albino Angel pointed to them and spoke to the children, who then bolted towards their parents crying out.

047\. Deep  
Staring into their newborn's shining blue eyes was like the night the Pilots waited on the hillside, the sky above so deep and filled with sparkling stars Asuka had secretly thought she'd fall into them and never come home, and she felt tears fill her eyes in joy at being able to hold a piece of heaven in her arms.

048\. Sarcastic  
"I know you don't really like him, Asuka, but Ken is my friend and Touji's, so no sarcastic comments," Hikari admonished, the brunette leading her redheaded friend up to the door of Kensuke's house, "I can't believe you and Touji-kun convinced me to actually go to his cosplay Halloween party, but I'll try to limit the sniping at his hobby," she replied, earning a glare from her friend as she knocked, the two girls straightening their chosen costumes before they heard a voice call to come in.

049\. Limit  
Asuka loved running, the feeling of air rushing by her and through her long, copper-red hair was exhilarating, the burning in her lungs and legs proof that she was pushing herself to her limits as she flew passed the other runners on the school track, grinning as she pushed herself faster with her face upturned to the bright sky.

050\. Writer's Choice [Instrumentality]  
Touji stood in the orange tinted realm, the Earth far below them, Asuka beside him with a faint smile on her face as she took one of his hands in her own, "The lure of Instrumentality is the perception of perfection, the illusion that everything is exactly what you want," he turned to face her, speaking softly, "Like perfect homes, duh perfect job, or a perfect relationship?" she smiled at him, reaching up to gently hold his cheek with her free hand, "You know what broke us out of the illusion before the others? It's that we know it's more than just dates, and holding hands, or kissing. It's accepting each other's weirdness and flaws. It's being yourself, and finding happiness together. It's seeing an imperfect person, perfectly." Touji smiled back, pulling her into a hug, "It's realizin' that each person can achieve their own, personal, Instrumentality."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 048\. Sarcastic was a bit of a challenge, but I hope it turned out good. I leave the costumes they wore up to your imagination. lol
> 
> Next up are the second set of 50.


	6. Threatening Semantics

001\. Threat  
Asuka stood before Gendo, Section-2 guards on either side of her as if they could actually stop her should she try to hurt the Commander, and weathered his cold gaze without flinching, the older man's presence no longer intimidating, and gave him a single warning before he could speak, "You know who and what I am, Rokubungi, but seem to have overlooked what that means," here she shot scathing glances at her escorts, "if you plan to hurt my husband or friends, I will hunt you down and kill you without a second thought."

002\. Empire  
Touji looked out from his Chair in Central Dogma, watching the Main Screen display a map of the world and the thousands of points where NERV bases were located, wondering if Kensuke would be proud of the empire he'd built upon what his two friends had left as they wandered the stars, and knowing that thought and his wife's constant presence were what kept him from stepping over the line from leader to dictator.

003\. Falter  
He saw her falter, saw the misstep and the MP-EVA moving to take advantage of it, and reaching into himself to that point of light he grabbed hold and pushed, taking hold of his connection to Unit-Three as he sat in the entryplug, pouring its power through his link to Asuka and bolstering her AT-Field as it absorbed the impact of the MP-EVA's blade.

004\. Compliment  
Asuka fought a losing battle to contain her giggles as she watched Touji attempt to compliment her evening dress for the dinner date they were going on, stopping only when he realized she found something amusing and started to look insulted on top of being embarrassed, and thanked him for it before entwining her arm through his and following him out of the door and down the hall.

005\. Glass  
Her mask of arrogance and superiority had always seemed harder than iron, no matter the situation, until the day she thought she'd lost Touji, and then it shattered like glass into a million, tiny, irrecoverable shards as her world fell apart around her.

006\. Honour  
Even drunk after the Halloween party at Kensuke's Touji was very careful about his hands and where they wandered as Asuka helped him into the apartment and to his bed in their shared room, and Asuka was glad that Misato had agreed to baby-sit her two charges for the night; she did not want to explain Touji's inebriation to their "adopted" children, and when he woke the next morning she assured him before he could start speaking that her honour was intact.

007\. Work  
Asuka enjoyed what she did, the hours she kept, and being able to go home in time to start dinner while Touji helped or she waited for him to return from after-school practice with the team he coached, her position as head of Tech-Division-1 not nearly as stressful or full of all-nighters as it had been for Ritsuko during the Angel Wars.

008\. Jealous  
As she sat and watched Touji explain to Hikari what and who he was, and how Asuka herself fit into it all, the German redhead relaxed and wait until he called her over; having long out grown any jealousy in their relationship she didn't worry about any feelings that might be present between the two old friends.

009\. Strings  
Asuka fought a giggle as she watched Touji wince at the sound of their eight-year-old practicing her violin in her room, fondly recalling how horrid she had sounded starting out on the same instrument, before finally standing to go check on Mana and give her a few pointers that had helped her years ago.

010\. Semantics  
Not being human isn't that same as not acting human, after all Asuka, Rei, and Kaworu were all Angels and all of them acted human for the most part -Asuka the most and Rei the least, though through no fault of her own-, and was something all three, along with their friends, had struggled with as they were forced to accept just who and what they were through the end of the Angel Wars in comparison to their unique upbringings and points-of-view, Touji standing as a rock in their lives that they could lean on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In 006. "Honour" I mention adopted children. If you've read "Angel" or "I'm Needed: Redux" - over on FF.net under the same author name - then you know they are the ten-year-old Shinji and Rei, whom Asuka is the guardian of during the Angel Wars.
> 
> Prompt 010. "Semantics" was the hardest one to write, mainly in conveying the meaning of the prompt without essentially giving a definition. I hope it turned out well.
> 
> And hey! a first glimpse of earlier in Asuka and Touji's relationship with Touji picking up Asuka for a date night during the Angel Wars.


	7. Chapter 7

011\. Innocence  
Asuka couldn't recall when exactly she lost her innocence, maybe when she walked in on her mother hanging from the ceiling of her hospital room -mama! Guess what!? I'm the Pilot for your robot! So pay attention to me! Mama?-, or maybe when she went to college at twelve -they're all beneath me, drinking and casual sex? Disgusting!-, or maybe it was when she had to fight the Angels, life or death situations every single battle -you want us to CATCH IT!?! - Shinji, you idiot, wait for back-up! - I'll stop you right here in the Geofront!-, but no matter when she lost hers, all of the possible times far too young, she would do everything in her power to let her children keep theirs for as long as possible.

012\. Dispose  
It was possibly the single most horrifying thing he'd ever had to do, and every time was as bad as the first, the smell being the first thing to hit his senses followed by the sight of the horrid creation that his daughter had made in her diaper, but he took it like a man -or to hear Asuka laughingly tell it, like a baby- and whenever it was his turn or he felt like giving Asuka that extra break -which was disturbingly often, to hear Kensuke's opinion on the matter- he powered through and did his duty...cleaning up...her duty... -oh, the smell!-

013\. Blaze  
As Asuka squared off against Kaworu in Terminal Dogma and he waited outside his EVA, Touji imagined he could feel the fire radiating off her as she unfolded her AT-Field and charged the other Angel, a visceral sensation perhaps imagined after hearing her describe how it felt like Fire and Ice when she grabbed hold of her power and let if flow through and around her.

014\. Neglect  
Honestly, Asuka couldn't believe how wilted her flowers were when she returned from a Scientists' Ball in the States that NERV had sponsored, granted the small collection was on the balcony, and they rarely used it since Kyo was born three years before, but she had thought Touji would listen and remember to water them and not neglect them; then again, considering the state the children's room had been in she figured he was more distracted by Mana and Kyo and less concerned with a few easily replaced plants.

015\. Quake  
Touji rarely had nightmares, not like Asuka used to after the aborted Third Impact, but when he did Asuka could feel him quaking through the mattress when she jerked awake at his gasp when whatever terror that haunted him threw him back to consciousness, and she would quickly move over and pull him into a hug, whispering that she was there and everything was okay.

016\. Guess  
Asuka was nearly skipping as she walked up to her and Touji house, giddy with the knowledge she was going to reveal to him, laughing at herself as she recalled how even four years ago she would have laughed in the face of anyone telling her she would be having children at twenty-two, and stepping into the entry she decided she was going to have fun with this and make her husband guess what had her so happy.

017\. Quarrel  
Asuka stormed out of Misato's office, her anger -no, rage- hot enough to cause her AT-Field to visibly shimmer around her as she marched down the hall to an employee lounge, her glowing blue eyes enough to scatter the few NERV personnel in the room; but Touji stayed behind, simmering as he faced Misato and told her in no uncertain terms that keeping Asuka, Angel or not, from fighting to protect Tokyo-3 was simply not happening, no matter what arguments she might come up with.

018\. Brood  
Touji watched Gendo leave his chair and move to stand before the long floor-to-ceiling window at the back of his office, an air of brooding settling over the man as he clasped his hands behind his back, "I may not look it, but I'm probably as old as you," Touji moved to stand beside him, relaxing just enough to allow the decades of memories settle on him knowing Gendo would pick up on the shift, "Thirty years, Gendo, thirty years lived dat included uh family I'd literally destroy duh world tuh protect; and Asuka knows it," he sighed, turning to face the Master Manipulator, "I've never been in yer shoes, and I pray I never am, but I get it; jus' realize I'll do what I gotta to stop ya, just so dey can have one more minute."

019\. Effort  
Touji could tell just how important this date was to his friend from how much effort he was putting into planning it and how much he was worrying, and couldn't stop himself from chuckling, Hikari would be happy with the date and he had nothing to worry over, but the jock could still recall his own nerves when he was starting to date Asuka and thought he knew how to calm the other young man down.

020\. Now  
Asuka had always liked to think she lived in the here-and-now, and Touji was much the same, but years later she realized it had always been a delusion, tricking herself into believing it when she was trapped in her past, and that Touji had really been the one focused on the present, his certainty was what had anchored her and part of what drew her in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew what I was going to do with 012. "Dispose" as soon as I saw it, but 017. "Quarrel" was harder as I didn't want to do a rehash of 026. "Stumble" from the first Hikari/Kensuke series. Then I realized I could have them arguing with someone else instead of each other. 
> 
> Prompt 020. "Now" was also a challenge to write before a wisp of an idea hit me.


	8. Solved Classics

021\. Solve  
Touji and Mana had, between the two of them, managed to complete most of her math homework, but that was as far as Touji's knowledge went, and while he enjoyed being able to help his daughter solve the same problems he'd dealt with in high-school, he also didn't mind getting the same help now as he did back then, and so he leaned back and called into the adjoining kitchen, "Asuka, hun, mind helpin' Mana wit' her homework?"

022\. Rest  
This was nice, they both thought, minds mixing in the illusionary perfection of Instrumentality and floating through visions of possible pasts and futures, but a simple thought always drew them back from the temptation, "My family is missing me,", and so they slowly pulled back, drew into themselves and focused on self and here-and-now instead of other and could-be/should-be, and taking a last moment to enjoy the rest, they let go of the dream.

023\. Soon  
Asuka could feel it in her core, the faint pulse of other and soon-but-not-yet that told her the next Angel would be here any moment, so she waited in the EVA Cages next to Unit-One while she talked with Touji and Misato, telling them what her few Angelic memories told her about Armisael, and knowing the that this battle would cost her in some way she did not want to pay.

024\. Listen  
"Kyo, stop," at Asuka's commanding tone her six-year-old son frozen in place, turning his head just enough for his wide indigo eyes to focus on his mother, "What did I say this morning? Play fair, she's your sister, stop using your AT-Field to keep her from tagging you when you play."

025\. Haze  
Touji pushed through the haze of Arael's psychic assault, forcing Unit-One to reach out and shove Asuka, inside Unit-Two, out of the beam the Fifteenth Angel projected, accepting the torrent of hateful and broken memories that slammed through his mind while Asuka recovered and retrieved the Lance from its cradle, and sighed before blacking out once the Lance shattered Arael, content even in the pain of his violated mind that he had protected her.

026\. Excite  
As she slammed the stolen MP-EVA blade down into one of the monsters, Asuka reveled in the excitement, the rush, of battle; this is what she Piloted for, the praise and victory were only close secondary goals to physically beating her opponents into messy smears on the floor of the Geofront.

027\. Verbal  
As loud and brash as the two of them could be, neither Asuka nor Touji were particularly good at actually communicating verbally; one of the things Asuka loved about him was how he would do the little things, little actions that would show he cared even when they'd had an argument.

028\. Fragment  
Asuka looked at the pieces of mirror on the floor, glancing around the badly rattled apartment after that final battle with SEELE's MP-EVAs, and wondered if she would be as fragmented as her reflection in these broke shards if she didn't have the people around her to lean on that she did, and glad that she wasn't.

029\. Inert  
Touji looked into the darkened eyes of Unit-One before him -and knew that Unit-Two in the next cage was equally inert- equal parts glad it was over and at the same time missing the rush of combat; in the end he decided the peace was preferable.

030\. Classic  
He would be the first to tell others he wasn't a fan of classical music, but as he sat in the audience with his wife and listened to Mana play her solo Touji decided it had its charms, and that he might buy Asuka her own violin so she could play with the daughter at home since her last was never replaced after it was lost in the chaos of their Final Stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For description:   
> Mana is a near mirror of her mother, though her hair is more auburn than red, and Kyo looks like his father aside from indigo eyes. [which is a reference to his mother being part Angel, another story I'll post later on]


	9. Animal Unfolding

031\. Animal  
Touji could always feel the presence buried in Unit-One, like a caged and restrained animal pulling at its leash every time he synched with it and fought against the Angels, the combat satiating the beast within until the next time he was inside the Entryplug.

032\. Jagged  
Asuka knew she was nearing her end, her soul felt jagged and frayed since Touji was pulled into Unit-One and if she couldn't get him back it was only a matter of time until her core -tied as it was to him- began to fail and her life ended, so she stood as defiant as ever before the wrapped visage of the EVA that held the one human she loved with her whole being, determined to get him back.

033\. Strange  
It was strange, Touji would admit, being married to one of the surviving Angels, but he wouldn't trade a single thing about Asuka for anything in the world.

034\. Measure  
Afterwords, Touji found he could freely laugh about his first attempt at cooking, knowing how lost he must have looked to Asuka while she spied on him as he struggled with the measurements and ingredients to make one of her favorite German-style breakfast meals.

035\. Ashes  
Touji watched the depths of the volcano as ash fell on his EVA, fighting a slowly building sense of panic the longer Asuka was in its hold searching for the dormant Angel hidden within.

036\. Leave  
When her request for leave was approved Asuka almost couldn't contain her excitement, completing what paperwork she had left and heading straight home to surprise Touji and start packing for their week at Okinawa; a trip she'd wanted to take since back during the Angel War.

037\. Fit  
Sometimes Asuka wondered if she was truly capable of being a mother, and until she held her baby girl in her arms and felt the overwhelming joy just from the sight of such a tiny face she worried and cried on Touji's shoulder, but now she felt certain that she could raise her children -and she knew they'd have more- in a better world than she was raised in.

038\. Elusive  
Until he met Asuka, and it was a memorable meeting, Touji felt like finding love like his parents obviously had -from all the pictures of them he'd seen- would be a search he might never finish.

039\. Painstaking  
Asuka watched as Touji took painstaking care in shaping the cradle for their second child, and she didn't think she'd ever felt more proud of him, especially after having watched him work after class in the local college's wood-shop for the last few months.

040\. Unfold  
They could feel all of Instrumentality stretch out before them, infinite possibilities leading to both Love and Loss, what felt like all of reality unfolding before them as the energies of Third Impact reached a shining crescendo and they made their choice together.


	10. Wrapped Rebirth

041\. Wrap  
As the two of them wrapped presents for Mana and Kyo they quietly reminisced, sharing soft smiles and occasionally speaking whatever memory of the past year surfaced in their minds, content in the peace in a way they hadn't been during the Angel War.

042\. Friend  
Held in the grip of Third Impact, feeling the energies more completely than any human could, Asuka watched as her friends were pulled into Instrumentality and realized anew what it was that she'd fought for.

043\. Swift  
Fighting Israfel was a swift and intricate dance, Asuka's training and Touji raw skill blending as they fought the twin Angel, some of the melee so lightning fast that the bridge crew almost couldn't follow.

044\. Seasons  
Even after living most of her life in the eternal Summer after Second Impact Asuka found it was still her favorite of the seasons, Autumn and Winter feeling like an ending and too cold for her tastes, and Spring generally too wet for her to enjoy though it at least felt like a new beginning, but Summer was -to her- full of life and memories both good and bad, a sentiment Touji shared.

045\. Need  
"I need you here by my side," their voice echoed through Instrumentality, carried across realities and dreams, "Your smile, your spirit, everything that makes you unique, so come back."

046\. Writer's Choice "Touch"  
It started with a simple touch, no real meaning behind it other than to gain attention, the two of them unfamiliar with each other and what the future would hold for them in its misty depths.

047\. Writer's Choice "Ring"  
It lead to a phone call, checking in and making sure all was well after a hard battle, friends caring about each other when it sometimes seemed as if no one else did.

048\. Writer's Choice "Scream"  
Followed by a scream in the night, terror pressing down until the other reached them and calmed them, the horrors from each of their near-death encounters with the Angels haunting their memories in the dark of night.

049\. Writer's Choice "Death"  
It ended in death, the world swallowed in the unleashed energies of Third Impact while they remained trapped in their EVAs, bloody and broken, powerless to save each other from horror of losing everything they'd loved.

050\. Writer's Choice "Rebirth"  
And started over in rebirth, Instrumentality collapsing around them as they held tight to the one thing that mattered the most in the world to them, each other, and certain in the knowledge that Love -the greatest of human emotions- would be the choice they held to as the future once more stretched out in a shimmering promise.


End file.
